China declares it must not be ‘affected’ by Russian sanctions in latest sign of growing frustration over the consequences of Putin’s war in Ukraine
- China has declared that it must not be ‘affected’ by Western sanctions on Russia
- Foreign minister said China should avoid fallout because it ‘is not party to crisis’
- Beijing has not condemned Putin’s invasion, abstained from UN vote last month
- Communist state walking a diplomatic tightrope to preserve Russian trade links
China has declared it must not be ‘affected’ by Russian sanctions in the latest sign of growing frustration over the consequences of Putin’s war in Ukraine.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi, speaking during a phone call with his Spanish counterpart Jose Manuel Albares on Tuesday, said that China does not want to be impacted by the West’s sanctions because the country ‘is not party to the crisis ‘.
China has ‘always opposed using sanctions to solve problems, let alone unilateral sanctions that has no basis in international law, which will… harm people’s livelihood in all countries’, Wang said.
Almost three weeks after Russian troops marched into Ukraine, Moscow’s forces have bombarded and besieged several towns and cities. Fighting has killed thousands and destroyed infrastructure, as well as causing millions to flee the country.
Wang’s comments were published after a seven-hour meeting between high-ranking US and Chinese officials in Rome, at which Washington said the US had expressed concern about ‘alignment’ between Russia and China.
Moscow and Beijing have drawn closer in recent times, in what Washington sees as an increasingly hostile alliance of the authoritarian nuclear powers.
Beijing has refused to condemn Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and abstained from a vote at the United Nations calling out Russian aggression last month.
The Communist state has walked a diplomatic tightrope since the start of the war on February 24 in order to preserve vital trade links with Russia which is now facing serious economic woes have being targeted by sanctions.
China has declared it must not be ‘affected’ by Russian sanctions in the latest sign of growing frustration over the consequences of Putin’s war in Ukraine
A view of burned tank is seen amid Russian-Ukrainian conflict in the city of Volnovakha, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on March 12
The Communist state has walked a diplomatic tightrope since the start of the war on February 24 in order to preserve vital trade links with Russia which is now facing serious economic woes have being targeted by sanctions (pictured, a Russian oil refinery
In the Rome meeting on Monday with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, China’s senior diplomat Yang Jiechi reiterated China’s stance that Beijing is ‘committed to promoting peace talks’, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday.
China called on all parties to exercise ‘maximum restraint’ and ‘protect civilians’ in the Ukraine crisis at the meeting.
The international community should support such talks to achieve substantive results as soon as possible, Yang said. Washington hopes Beijing can use its influence on Putin.
Although Beijing does not back Western sanctions, the White House is pressuring the world’s second-largest economy to refrain from rescuing Russia from potential default or sending weaponry.
US intelligence reports published Sunday claimed Moscow had requested military equipment from Beijing after Russian forces started ‘running out’ of weapons during their sluggish invasion of Ukraine.
China on Monday accused Washington of spreading ‘disinformation’ over Beijing’s role in the Ukraine war, without directly addressing US media reports of a Russian request for help.
Beijing has struggled to maintain a façade of neutrality and has repeatedly blamed the United States and NATO’s ‘eastward expansion’ for worsening tensions.
Neither Beijing nor New Delhi have condemned the invasion in Ukraine and both abstained from a vote at the United Nations calling out Russian aggression last month
In the Rome meeting on Monday with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, China’s senior diplomat Yang Jiechi reiterated China’s stance that Beijing is ‘committed to promoting peace talks’, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday
This general view shows destroyed Russian armored vehicles in the city of Bucha, west of Kyiv, on March 4, 2022
Debris of a military plane is seen after it was shot by Ukrainian forces on the 10th day of Russian attacks on Ukraine in Chernihiv, Ukraine last week
A Russian tank is pictured having been destroyed by Ukrainian soldiers
It is a view that reverberates across state newspapers and television – as well as social media – in China’s tightly controlled news environment.
When Putin announced an assault on Ukraine on February 24, China’s official Xinhua news agency maintained it was a ‘military operation’ and Moscow had ‘no intent’ of occupying Ukrainian territory.
Days later, state broadcaster CCTV echoed a false Russian claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had left Kyiv – a story quickly repeated by other domestic outlets.
And some Chinese reports also state that there has been a surge of ‘neo-Nazi’ ideology among the Ukrainian army and people, a claim supported by Putin.
A directive to a state-affiliated outlet, circulating online last month, appeared to instruct that posts unfavourable to Russia or containing pro-Western content should not be published.
State media reports on Ukraine avoid terms like ‘invasion’, instead describing the situation as a ‘conflict’ or ‘fighting’.
‘This is not a struggle to find the right message,’ Justyna Szczudlik, China analyst at the Polish Institute of International Affairs, told AFP.
‘China purposely uses very vague language,’ she added, noting that this was to reduce diplomatic risks in its relations with Western countries.
Officials, too, have rebuffed the term ‘invasion’ when questioned by foreign journalists – accusing them of biased reporting – while giving the contradictory statements that China respects every country’s sovereignty but won’t take sides.
Media outlets have also started explicitly pushing Russian conspiracy theories. ‘There is no smoke without fire,’ state-run tabloid Global Times wrote while repeating Russian claims that US-funded biological labs in Ukraine were experimenting with bat coronaviruses
Days later, state broadcaster CCTV echoed a false Russian claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had left Kyiv – a story quickly repeated by other domestic outlets
A fierce condemnation of war at the opening of the Winter Paralympic Games in Beijing was not translated on Chinese TV.
Meanwhile Britain’s junior foreign office minister James Cleverly on Tuesday warned that Beijing should not support Russia over the invasion.
‘We continue to call upon China and indeed all countries to cease any support they may have to Russia,’ Cleverly told the BBC.
‘We want to build as broad a coalition of opposition to Russia as possible so of course we will have those conversations with the Chinese.’
India on Monday became the latest country to hand Russia a sanction-busting lifeline after the government indicated it may accept Moscow’s offer to buy oil and other commodities at a discount price.
‘Russia is offering oil and other commodities at a heavy discount. We will be happy to take that,’ an Indian government official said, declining to elaborate on how much oil was on offer and what the discount was.
The official added that such trade required preparatory work including transportation, insurance cover and getting the right blend of crude, but once that was done India would take Russia up on its offer.
India, which imports 80 per cent of its oil needs, usually buys only about 1 per cent from Russia. But with oil prices up 40 per cent so far this year, the government is looking at increasing this if it can help reduce its rising energy bill.
New Delhi, which has refused to condemn the Ukraine war, follows Beijing which last month lifted restrictions on wheat imports from Russia. Imports had been restricted amid concerns over Russia’s measures to prevent plant diseases, particularly in agricultural crops.
India may bail out Russia by taking up an offer to buy crude oil and other commodities at a discount despite Western attempts to isolate Moscow through sanctions (pictured, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting in December 2021)
India, which imports 80 per cent of its oil needs, usually buys only about 2-3 per cent from Russia. But with oil prices up 40 per cent so far this year, the government is looking at increasing this if it can help reduce its energy bill (pictured a Russian diesel plant in Irkutsk)
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